Edmund King, AA Trust Chairman, said: “We want to help drivers understand this exciting new technology at the EV Experience Centre but we also want to help them get the most out of their electric cars.

“Drive Electric sessions, conducted by AA instructors, can either be carried out in the driver’s own electric car, or in one of the EV Experience Centre’s test drive fleet. The EV Experience and Drive Electric experiences will really put Milton Keynes on the map as the most go-to EV City in the World.”

About Drive Electric

The session introduces participants to electric cars, driving techniques and how to obtain the best and most economical performance.

It includes:

Connecting and disconnecting to a charge point

Introduction to controls

Energy consumption displays

Charge rate and range

Eco features including ‘B’ and ‘Eco’ modes and remote climate control

On the road driving techniques including using regenerative braking and the most economical use of available energy

Finding and using suitable charge points including long journey planning and different types of charging point

Distracted drivers

#NeverTextDrive

Cadence

In November 2016 the AA Trust started a year long campaign to try to change attitudes and behaviours around driver distraction.

The campaign kicked off with the launch of a new film, 'Cadence'. A young film-maker became so uncomfortable by her peers’ driving and use of mobiles at the wheel that she has produced a film with a safety twist, thanks to funding from the AA Charitable Trust.

The ad highlights the danger of texting whilst driving with a narrative that follows a couple leaving a nightclub: the woman, who is the designated driver for her intoxicated boyfriend, starts to reply to a text as they start their journey. The boyfriend notices and suggests they swap places, in a move that makes a bold statement on the dangers of using a mobile phone whilst driving.

Think Bikes!

In March 2014, we launched a national 'Think Bikes!' awareness campaign with support from British Cycling and The Motorcycle Industry Association.

One million stickers

Initially one million free stickers were distributed to drivers as a reminder to do a ‘double-take’ in their mirrors for cycles and motorcycles in their blind spots. It's proposed that the cycle sticker is placed on the passenger’s side and the motorcycle one on the driver’s side.

Free stickers can be picked up from all Halfords outlets and will also be distributed by the police and directly to breakdown-cover members in renewal and joining packs.

Original concept

The original sticker concept came from Tony Rich, AA Patrol of the Year, after his friend, Jack Bellis, was killed in a motorcycle crash. Tony and Jack’s family wanted to do something to help prevent such crashes in the future.

Launch

The campaign was launched on Friday 7 March at Marble Arch, London, with the help of famous Olympic cyclist Chris Boardman, 20 times TT winner John McGuinness and with support from the Metropolitan Police.

'New Deal'

For the AA, Think Bikes! is part of its ongoing commitment to improve road safety for all road users and forms part of the 'New Deal' for road users the organisation is championing; where all road users agree to stick to the rules of the road and treat each other with respect.

Those on two wheels never appear from nowhere

According to Edmund King, AA president and Director of the AA Charitable Trust: “The AA Think Bikes! campaign is definitely needed when AA-Populus research shows that half of drivers are often surprised when a cyclist or motorcyclist ‘appears from nowhere’. Those on two wheels never appear from nowhere so as drivers we need to be more alert to other road users and this is where our stickers act as a daily reminder. Likewise riders need to be aware that they may not always be spotted by drivers. We hope that this campaign can reach the parts that other campaigns can’t reach."

AA's 'Think Bikes' goes global

The award-winning UK road safety initiative, which encourages all drivers to do a double-take in their mirrors for those on two wheels, is being rolled out globally by the FIA, the world motoring organisation.

It now has the potential to reach millions more drivers across the 111 FIA motoring clubs in the region.

Edmund King, director of the AA Charitable Trust, said: "We are so proud of how well received the campaign has been in its first year and are delighted by this latest development.

"To think that our campaign has already gone global so early in its life is fantastic and I hope it is as successful abroad as it has been here."

Drive Smart

We aim to help new drivers 'most at risk' who have passed their driving test in the last twelve months and had an accident or have points on their licence.

20% of new drivers have a crash within 12 months of passing their test.

A young driver is 10 times more likely to be involved in a serious collision than a more experienced driver.

Teenagers are more likely to die on the roads than from stabbings or drugs.

Drive Smart was launched in January 2009, initially to offer 2,000 totally free eco-safe driver training packages (two one-hour sessions with a fully-qualified AA driving instructor) designed specifically for us to help new drivers.

Supported by transport ministers, Drive Smart focuses on improving safety as well as 'eco-driving' techniques to cut fuel consumption.

Partners

We work closely with a number of partners, including some police forces, to promote 'Drive Smart' – Greater Manchester, North Wales and Northamptonshire police were the first on board.

In police forces running the scheme, new drivers stopped and cautioned or charged with offences such as not wearing a seatbelt or using a mobile phone while driving are written to by the police force and encouraged to apply for Drive Smart courses.

We continue to work closely with police forces that have expressed an interest in Drive Smart, and with other potential partners.

Drive Confident

If you're a qualified driver who'd like refresher driver training to increase your confidence on the road, you could be eligible for free training with one of our qualified driving instructors.

Our course offers two hours (two one-hour slots, or one two-hour slot) free guided tuition and practice for qualified drivers who lack confidence in some areas of driving, or who might need some refresher training.

The in-car sessions include an initial assessment followed by guided practice and coaching. An accompanying workbook supports the in-car sessions.

Benefits:

If you have a full licence and have returned to driving after not driven for a long time, then this could help you.

Some concerns or difficulties can be:

driving at night or in heavy rain/fog

driving in heavy traffic or rush-hour conditions

driving on motorways or dual carriageways

parking

roundabouts

busy junctions/traffic lights

overtaking

Read more and apply for a Drive Confident course.

Drive Motorway

Motorways carry 21% of the traffic but account for just 5.4% of fatalities which makes them safer than other types of roads. However, motorway-phobia is increasing as a growing number who do not understand the new ‘smart’ motorways join those drivers who have always been petrified of motorways.

According to research from the AA Populus motoring panel:

Almost half of motorists know friends or family who avoid driving on motorways.

More than one in 10 women say that they themselves avoid driving on motorways due to nerves.

A quarter of drivers are even nervous when they know that family or friends are making a journey on a motorway.

Drive for opportunity

Typically, learning to drive is something young people only get the chance to do with the support of their parents, or other immediate family members.

But the freedom driving brings can help young people get a job, travel to work, build an independent life and manage their own social arrangements – vital steps for all young people, but particularly for those in care who may struggle to feel in control over their own lives.

Drive for opportunity set out to provide driving lessons for four teenagers within the Bristol care system.

The pilot project is a collaboration between the AA Charitable Trust and AA Driving School, Bristol City Council and Professor David Berridge from the School for Policy Studies at Bristol University.

The AA Trust has funded the tuition, which is being provided by three AA Driving School instructors around Bristol and is also monitoring the progress of each participant. Bristol City Council has been providing additional support to the young people involved, through their care team.

Edmund King, director of the AA Charitable Trust, said: “This project has been a real learning curve for us and has paved the way for us taking part in similar ventures again."

“Learning to drive is a life skill that many young people take for granted. It is difficult to fully appreciate how useful driving is, as teenagers make the transition to full independence. Driving is something most teenagers in care never get to experience and they are often the young people who need the most help to build a secure and independent future. "

Evaluation

The project will be evaluated upon completion, when Professor Berridge and the AA Charitable Trust will look at the achievements, challenges and longer-term impact the project had.

Ride Before You Drive

You can get involved in road safety research – and get on the road for free.

We are supporting a research project looking at the safety record of new drivers.

Part involves looking at new drivers who have also taken Compulsory Basic Training (CBT) for motorcycles. CBT is the first part of any motorcycle or scooter training and is a structured day in which you learn the basic skills required to ride on the road.

This is a long-term project that will follow new drivers for a number of years post-test. Our support is largely at the start of the project as we are promoting the project to learner drivers within the AA Driving School and BSM and encouraging them to get involved.

Are you in the research area?

The team is looking for learner drivers aged 17-24 in the following postcode districts to take part:

Contact the project team

If you are an AA Driving School or BSM pupil within one of these districts and are interested in finding out more about the research, please call the Ride Before You Drive team on 02476 408042 or email ridedrive@mciadmin.co.uk.

Learner drivers who take part in the project will form two groups:

'CBT group' - one group will take their CBT (funded for free by the project), and

'Control group' - the other will be a control group required only to complete three short yearly questionnaires following their driving test.

All learner drivers who take part, either in the CBT or control group, will receive a free £50 voucher for either the AA Driving School or BSM.

Future plans

Our trustees are considering a number of possible ideas for new initiatives in the future.

Motorcycle safety

Motorcycles make up approximately 1% of traffic but account for 20% of fatalities

We are considering several options to tackle motorcycle safety including the possibility of providing support to 'bike safe' and 'scooter safe' schemes.

Drug driving

Half of drivers believe that drug driving is a more common problem than drink driving
Over 50,000 drivers a year would fail roadside 'drugalyzer' tests if such devices were being used by UK police forces.

We are considering creating a schools education programme to take the message of the dangers of drug driving to young people 16-18 years old.

Other ideas

We are pleased to receive ideas/proposals from our members for possible future schemes aligned with charitable objectives.

These include the preservation and protection of human life and health by the prevention of personal injury to, and death of, individuals on roads and in motor vehicles in the United Kingdom in particular but not exclusively through:

Educating road users in road safety.

Campaigning on issues of road safety.

Promoting understanding and awareness of road safety and eco-driving to reduce environmental impact of motoring and to protect the environment.